Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman's 'UP-type' remark for an answer sparks row

New Delhi: Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman is facing severe backlash from the opposition after she described an answer as "UP type" during a press briefing after the presentation of the Union Budget 2022 on February 1.

In a press briefing following the presentation, the finance minister was asked about Rahul Gandhi's zero-sum comment on yesterday's budget.

However, she asked the Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary to respond, who said, "You said Rahul Gandhi has not understood the budget, it is true. Nirmala Sitharaman will answer hereafter, all I have to say is that the Budget will reap benefits for all and the same will be evident in some time."

It is then that Nirmala Sitharaman reportedly said, "I think he has given a typical UP type answer which is good enough for an MP who ran away from UP."

The Congress leader had yesterday alleged that the government had delivered a "zero-sum budget" that has nothing for the middle class, farmers and the poor, drawing a derisive response from Union ministers who suggested that the opposition leader had not understood the "futuristic" measures.

Following her remark, the opposition has accused Ms Sitharaman of insulting the people of Uttar Pradesh and demanded that she apologise to them.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is leading Congress in Uttar Pradesh, took to her official Twitter handle to slam Nirmala Sitharaman for the comment.

"You did not put anything for UP in the bag of Budget...but what was the need to insult people of UP in this manner?'' "Understand, the people of UP are proud to be 'UP-type'. We are proud of the language, dialect, culture and history of UP," the Congress general secretary in-charge UP said in a tweet in Hindi, using the hashtag "UP Mera Abhiman (UP my pride)", her tweet read.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala accused the finance minister of insulting the people of Uttar Pradesh with her "UP-type" remark that made light of them.

"Nirmala Sitharaman has insulted the 25 crore people of Uttar Pradesh and made fun of them with her 'typical UP-type' comment. This is a big insult to the 25 crore people of Uttar Pradesh. Modi Ji and Nirmala Sitharaman should immediately apologise to the people of Uttar Pradesh," Mr Surjewala told reporters.